MOSCOW, July 31, Renat Abdullin. Protests continue in Venezuela in connection with the recent elections. Incumbent President Nicolas Maduro won, but the opposition and some foreign players consider the data to be falsified. Against this background, Caracas has already lowered the level of diplomatic relations with a number of countries. About the progress and possible consequences of mass protests — in the material .
Figures and victimsAfter Sunday's elections, the National Electoral Council (CNE), controlled by Maduro's supporters, declared him the winner with 52.1 percent of the vote. His rival, veteran Venezuelan diplomat Edmundo González, received 44.2 percent, according to official figures.
Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro outside the presidential palace in Caracas after election officials declared him the winner of the presidential election
As these figures show, Maduro did not «draw» exorbitant numbers for himself, but his opponents refused to recognize the results of the NEC. The opposition alliance «Unified Democratic Platform» (PUD), which nominated González, reported that he allegedly received almost 70 percent support, and the incumbent president — a little more than 30.
PUD leaders demanded that Maduro provide scanned printouts of all voting protocols — more than 30,000 documents — with dates and signatures of polling station employees and observers, and not just the summary data indicated on the government website.
Many abroad also disagreed with the election results. Nine countries in the region, through the Argentine Foreign Ministry, issued a joint statement demanding a comprehensive study of the information on the voting process in the Bolivarian Republic. In addition, they requested an emergency meeting of the Organization of American States (OAS, includes states from both American continents). There is no decision on this yet.
The US and EU did not openly speak out about the non-recognition of Maduro, but also indicated that at least an assessment from international observers is needed. «We have serious concerns that the announced results do not reflect the will of the Venezuelan people,» US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken noted, in particular. Such concerns are not accidental: Washington is generally accustomed to viewing Latin America as its «backyard».
At the same time, protests began in Venezuela, which by mid-week had engulfed most of the country's states. Almost two hundred public demonstrations were recorded.
A protest against the presidential election results in Caracas, Venezuela
Social media was filled with reports of both opposition marches and rallies by pro-Maduro biker gangs known as «colectivos,» whose members were filmed firing into the air.
Some of the protests escalated into violent clashes between demonstrators and the Bolivarian National Police and National Guard, who were forced to use batons and tear gas. At least two protesters were reported killed. At least 15 protesters were detained, some were found to be in possession of Molotov cocktails and bladed weapons.
Law enforcement was also injured: about 20 police officers and guards were injured.
Police officers during protests in Caracas, Venezuela
Discontent with Maduro's victory has also resulted in at least three monuments to Hugo Chavez being torn down across the country. It was the late Venezuelan president who ensured the current leader's rise to power.
A gringo's doing?Amid foreign criticism, Caracas has recalled ambassadors from Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Peru, Panama, the Dominican Republic and Uruguay.
«Venezuela expresses its strongest rejection of the intervention and statements of a group of right-wing governments subordinate to Washington,» said Ivan Gil, head of the Bolivarian Republic's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
«The same people who recognized the puppet in 2019 intend to impose it today, in 2024,» the minister warned.
Gil is referring to the former speaker of the Venezuelan parliament, Juan Guaido. Five years ago, after Maduro's second election and the accompanying protests, the speaker of the National Assembly declared that the country's constitution allowed him to act as president. And after the oath, some states did indeed officially recognize Guaido as the head of Venezuela. But the «dual power» ended in nothing. The «acting» was expelled from the country, and his government was dissolved early last year. Maduro has held out.
Venezuela's parliament speaker and opposition leader Juan Guaido, who declared himself interim president of the country during a speech at a rally in Caracas
Now the president has also spoken out about the protests being fueled from abroad. «A typical image of color revolutions in the world, promoted by gringos (Americans. — Ed.),» Maduro said.
He praised his country's electoral system, noting its «very high level of trust, security and transparency.» The president also spoke about a «large-scale attack» on electoral institutions from abroad, but did not specify from which side: «This is not the first time they have tried to disturb the peace of the republic.»
However, the opposition is not giving up. Although the unrest in the capital of the republic had largely died down by Wednesday — thanks in part to the fact that the security forces did not resort to mass arrests — PUD members continue to demand Maduro's resignation. They do not even plan to hold a new vote: they insist that the president already lost on July 28.
«He must understand that he was defeated,» says Maria Corina Machado, who led the anti-Maduro protests in 2014 and was running for president in 2019 (if Guiado had been able to push through a new election). «Edmundo González is the elected president,» she said at a rally of PUD supporters, calling on them to continue demonstrating.
Whose side is the power on? Although Maduro is now playing the card of external intervention, the reasons for the protests are different. In particular, the director of the Institute of Latin America of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Dmitry Rosenthal, spoke about this. In his opinion, the influence of other countries on the demonstrations lies only in the fact that they supported the opposition’s opinion about the non-recognition of the elections: “At the same time, I would not say that the riots were inspired from outside.”
The political crisis in Venezuela has been going on for several years: in its active phase since 2019, but in reality since 2013, the expert recalled. «Under these conditions, any acute event, such as elections, leads to contradictions between the government and the opposition,» Rosenthal noted.
Protest against the results of the presidential elections in Caracas, Venezuela
«The government and its opponents have different goals. The political system of Venezuela was formed in conditions of deep confrontation. Thus, it is very important for the country's leadership to control the decision-making process and not allow the opposition, which, naturally, is not happy with this — it seeks to overthrow the government. It is very difficult for the two sides to reach an agreement,» the expert emphasized.
Political Science Candidate Alexey Chernyaev, in turn, points out that the advantage is on Maduro's side in any case.
«Over ten years, a controlled vertical of security agencies has been built that are not interested in a change of power. And they have significant capabilities to counteract attempts to overthrow the president. We will see some outbreaks of unrest, as was the case in 2019. But in general, the situation will not change fundamentally,» the political scientist believes.
As for the international community, according to Chernyaev, it will prefer to avoid direct intervention in the conflict — of course, with a general declarative condemnation of Maduro. And, given the balance of power, the acute phase of the confrontation between the president and the opposition should end within two weeks.